Conveyer.



PATENTED 0013. 23, 1906.

F. L. CLARK.

CON VEYER.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 3, 1898.

7 SHEBTS8HSET 1.

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ruz NORRIS PETERS cm, wasmuaruu, n. c

PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906'.

- F. L. CLARK.

GONVEYER.

APPLIOATION FILED AUGMS, 1898.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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INVENTOR,

m: NORRIS PETERS ca, wuumamu, o. c.

No. 833,774. PATENTED OCT. 23; 1906.

P. L- CLARK. GONVEYER.

APPLIOATION IILED AUG. 3, 1898.

1 SHEETS-SHEET o.

WITNISSIS:

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PATENTBD OCT. 23, 1906.

F-.L.GLARK.

GONVBYE-R,

APPLIUATIOK TILED AUG. 3, 189B.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

INVENTOR,

WITNESSES:

THE NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS L. CLARK, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THEWESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYL VANlA, ACORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 23, 1906.

Application filed August s, 1393. Serial No. 687,584.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS L. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented or discovered a certain new and usefulImprovement in Oonveyers, of which improvement the following is aspecification.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement in conveyors;and to this end my invention consists in a new and improved endlessconveyer in which a number of movable platforms, tables, or cars areemployed for moving packages, boxes, or other articles.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an application of myinvention, Figure l is a plan view of my improved conveyer with theplatforms removed from onehalf of the structure; Fig. 2, a similar view,on a larger scale, of one end of the conveyer; Fig. 3, a verticalsectional view on the line 93 of Figs. 1 and 2 Fig. 4, a verticalsection on the line 11 y of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a vertical section on theline 2 z of Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a vertical section through the framing ofthe conveyer and through the adjustable sprocketwheel on the line it uof Fig. 1; Fig. 7, a vertical section on the line '0 o of Fig; 1; Figs.8, 9, and 10, views showing in detail a part of the adjusting mechanism;Fig. 11, an enlarged view showing in elevation the platforms and upperand lower supporting-rollers ,Fig. 12, a sectional view, on an enlargedscale, through one of the platforms and through the bearing with whichthe sprockets engage, the section being taken on the line w w of Fig. 1and viewed from the left; Fig. 13, a sectional view through theplatforms at right angles to that of Fig. 12, the sprocket- Y bearingsand connecting-links being shown in elevation.

As shown in the drawings, the conveyor comprises a number of horizontalplatforms 1, which are connected together by links 2 and which are movedby the rotation of the sprocket-wheels 3 and 4. The wheel 3 acts as thedriver, and the wheel 4 and the platforms are driven thereby, thesprockets 5 and 6 of the wheels 3 and 4, respectively, engaging with thesprocket-bearingsunder the platforms.

In accordance with my invention the platforms are supported at or neartheir inner edges by wheels or rollers 7 of peculiar construction, whichare adapted to roll on a straight rail 8 between the ends of theconveyer and which at the ends of the conveyor are carried around theturning-point on circular rails or flanges 9 and 9 in such a mane nerthat there is no rotation of the roller thati's, it does not roll on thecircular rails.

The outer edges of the platforms are supported on and move over wheelsor rollers 10, mounted on a frame composed of two plates 11 and 11 whichare rigidly secured to cross-frames 12 between the ends of the conveyerand which at the curved end portions are rigidly secured to andsupported by the brackets 13. cured to and supported by the cross-frames12, and these cross-frames rest on and may be fixed to any suitablefoundation, so that the plates 11 and 11 and the rollerslO may besupported at any desired height above the ground or floor. This is animportant feature in many cases-as, for example, where the conveyor isemployed in a foundry the floor of which is covered with sand.

The outer rollers 10 form a train of rollers which are not connectedwith the platforms and which may be. sufficiently close together to formany desired number of supportingpoints for the outer portions. of eachof the platforms. The outer portions of the plat forms merely rest onthe rollers 10 without being connected thereto and slide over therollers with little or no friction. By means of this construction arigid, durable, and permanent support of any desired strength isprovided for the outer portions of the plat forms, and as the platformsmay be placed quite close together near their outer edges the rollersand their bearings may be so covered by the platforms as to prevent anyconsiderable amount of dust, sand, or dirt from falling on them. Thespace between the plates 11 and 11 is open at the top and bottom, andany dust, sand, or dirt which may fall from above will drop through tothe floor and not be retained in position to interfere with theoperation of the rollers. On account of their position and theprotection thus afiorded the rollers are not liable to become cloggedwith dirt or to be interfered with by piles of sand or other materialwhich may be on the floor, but will always move with but little frictionand with much more ease than if they were attached to the platforms andhad to be dragged over the floor and through or over all obstructionsthereon.

The employment of the train of rollers on The inner rails 8 are alsoserail 9 or 9 on the sprocket-wheel.

a stationary frame obviates any necessity for securing rollers to theouter portions of the platforms, and the latforms are thereby freed fromthe weight oi the rollers and of the brackets, which would be necessaryto secure them in place, and the load to be driven in moving theplatforms is correspondingly reducedQ At the ends of the straight rails8 I provide switch-rails 14 and 15, by which the rollers 77 are carriedin their movement between the rails 8 and the circular rails or flanges9 and -9 on the sprocket-wheels 3 and 4. "The switch-rails 15 are formedintegral with or secured to a downwardly-projecting plate 16, which ispivotally secured near its upper and lower edges to the slotted brackets17 and 18 by means of the bolts 19 and 20, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and4, so that the switch-rails may be adjusted longitudinally when the nutson the lower ends of the bolts are slacked up. A downward extension 21on each of the switch-rails 14 is pivoted in the brackets 22 and 23without any provision for adjustment, for the reason that the axis ofthe sprocket-wheel 3 is fixed at all times and there is no variation inthe distance between the ends of the rails 8- and thezpoints of tangencyon the wheel 3 at which the ends of the switch-rails 14 touch. Theswitch-rails 15 are made adjustable, so that they may be shifted whenthe sprocketwheel 4 is adjusted to take up the slack of the endlesschain to which the platforms are connected. The switch-rails 15 are connected together by an adjustable rod 24 and the switch-rails 14 by asimilar rod 25, so l that these rails may always be maintained in theirproper positions relative to the wheels 3 and 4. The rollers 7 at theinner edges of the platforms 1 are grooved so as to fit the rails 8 andare provided on theirinner edges with a flange 26, having a cylindricalsurface which is adapted to bear on the switch-rail and on the circularrails 9 and 9 of the sprocket-wheels. When the rollers 7 are moving onthe rails 8, the inner surface of the groove in the roller bears on therail, and when the roller passes from the rail 8 to the switch-rail,which has a flat upper surface, the cylindrical surface of the flange 26is in contact with and rolls on the flat surface of the switch-rail,from which it passes to the After it is transferred to the circular railor flange the roller 7 does not rotate, but is carried around by thewheel, as on a turntable, without any movement of the roller relative tothe .tact with a screw-threaded stem 44.

platforms 1 is rigidly connected to what may be called a double link ofan endless chain composed of alternate single and double links, thesingle links 2 formin the connec* tions between platforms. Eac of thedouble links is formed of an upper bar 28 and a lower bar 29, havingtheir ends fitted on pins 30, which pass through the platform and havetheir heads countersunk therein. The ends of the single links are fittedon the pins 30 between the bars 28 and 29 and form bearing-surfaces ofconsiderable size for the sprockets 5 and 6, which project into thespaces between the bars 28 and 29 as the chain passes around thesprocket-wheels. The bars 28 are provided near the ends with lugs 27,which are bolted to the platforms, and the bars 29 are secured to thepins 30 by smaller pins 32. By means of this construction the doublelink is firmly secured to the platform and there is no lost motionbetween the pins and any of the links. The sprocketwheel 3 is secured toa vertical shaft 31, which is mounted in a fixed frame-plate 35 anddriven by a worm-gear 32 33, and the sprocket-wheel 4 is secured to ashaft 34,.

which is mounted in a bearing formed on a movable plate 36, which isadapted to slide on a fixed base-plate 37. The brackets 13, whichsupport the curved portions of the roller-frame, are secured to themovable plates 36, and the plate 36 will not ordinarily be tightlybolted to the fixed base-plate but if it is and it is desired to adjustthe sprocketwheel 4 to take up the slack the nuts on the bolts 38 areslacked up and the hand-wheels 39 are turned so as to vary thecompression of the springs 40. The springs 40 are mounted in cavitiesformed in a transverse bearingframe 42,.which is hooked into the fixedbase-' plate .37, and they bear at one end against a flange 43 on themovable plate and at the other end against a block 50, which is in con-The slots 41 permit movement of the bolts 38 in the base-plate 37. Onthe ends of the bearing-frame 42 are bolted the straps 45, havingdownwardly-extending portions 46, adapted to hook into holes 47 in thebase-plate, which are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The bearing-frame42 may be shifted so as to hook the parts 46 into any of the holes 47 asthe position of the plate 36 and the compression of the springs 40 mayrequire. The curved portion of the roller-frame extending around thesprocket-wheels at the adjustable end of the conveyer is not integrallyconnected with the straight portions between the ends, and there is aspace between the adjoining ends of the plates 11 and 11 where thecontinuity of these, plates is interrupted. This space is marked a in Fis. 1 and 2 and is shown on one side only of the drawings, because on theother side the break is covered by the platforms; but in this respectand in all of the construction for permitting adjust-- ment the twosides of the conveyer are alike. In order to prevent too great aseparation of the bearing-points of a platform as it passes from thestationary part of the roller-frame to the adjustable part, I provideadditional rollers 10*, mounted between the plates 11 and 1 1, whichoverlap the ends of the straight stationary part of the roller-frame andwhich are secured to the inner plate 11 of the adjustable portionof theframe, so that when the adjustment is made the rollers 10 move with theadjustable part and provide a bearing between the two rollers that havebeen moved apart.

My improvement is not limited to a construction in which the device forsupporting the load is a flat platform or table, and, if preferred,boxes or cars of some other form may be employed.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In aconveyer, the combination with a series of connected platforms havingwheels or rollers secured thereto, of a track or rail for said wheels,and a horizontal sprocketwheel having a rail adapted to support thewheels or rollers in their passage around the sprocket-wheel.

2. In a conveyer, the combination, with a series of connected platforms,of a track or rail on which said latforms are movable, and asprocket-whee adapted to form a support for one side of the platforms intheir passage around the sprocketwheel.

3. In a conveyer, the combination, of a series of connected platforms,wheels or rollers connected to one side of the latforms, a track or railon which said wheel are adapted to run, and a sprocket-Wheel having acurved track adapted to support the wheels or rollers in their passagearound the sprocket-wheel.

4. In a conveyer, the combination, With connected platforms, of rollersconnected to and supporting the platforms on one side, a roller-frame,comprising a stationary portion and an adjustable portion with rollersmounted therein for supporting the other side of the platforms. i

5. In a conveyer, the combination, with connected platforms, of an innerrail, rollers connected to the platforms, and adapted to roll on therail, a sprocket-wheel also adapted to support said rollers, an outerframe and rollers mounted in the frame and adapted to form an outersupport for the platforms.

6. In a conveyer, the combination, with an endless chain andsprocket-wheels for engaging therewith, of platforms, secured to thechain and supported on one side by wheels, or rollers, secured to'thelatforms, said rollers being supported, at t e ends of the conveyer, bysaid sprocket-wheels, and a train of wheels or rollers, unconnected withthe platforms and forming a support there- 7. In a conveyer, thecombination, with connected platforms, and means for driving them, ofmeans for supporting one side of the platforms, comprising a train ofwheels, or rollers, mounted in a frame having a stationary portion andan adjustable portion.

8. In a conveyer, the combination, with movable platforms, of means forsupporting one side of the platforms, comprising a train of wheels, orrollers, mounted in a frame which is formed of a stationary portion andan adjustable portion overlapping the stationary portion and wheels orrollers mounted in the overlapping part of the adjustable portion of theframe.

9. In a conveyer, the combination with movable platforms, ofsprocket-wheels and a straight track or rail on which the platforms aresup orted when moving between s rocket-whee s, a circular track on whicht e platforms are sup orted in passing around a sprocket-whee and aswitch-rail betweenthe straight track and the circular track.

10. In a conveyer, the combination, with movable platforms, of anadjustables rocketwheel, a track or rail on which the p atforms aresupported, and an adjustable switch-rail between the track and thesprocketwheel.

11. In a conveyer, the combination with movable platforms, each havingvertical ins secured to the bottom thereof, of two ars secured at eachend to the pins, and connecting bars or links for securing the platformstogether.

12. In a conveyer, the combination, with movable platforms, andsprocket-wheels, of a sprocket-chain having a double link formed of an nper bar having lugs which are rigidly adapted to move freely, and asingle wheel or In testimony whereof I have hereunto set roller, forsupporting the inner portion of my hand. each platform and which iscarried around i T with the wheel without rotation on its axis, 1 FEAR 1CLARK whereby the center lines of the platforms are 1 Witnesses:maintained in a radial position relative to the ETHEL GALLAGHER, wheel.l M. S. MURPHY.

